Third place Tories urge Cameron to toughen up

DAVID Cameron faced a furious backlash from battered Conservatives last night following his party’s third place humiliation in the Eastleigh by-election which saw the Tories sensationally overtaken by Ukip.

Some MPs even suggested Mr Cameron could now face a full-blown leadership crisis if the party is routed in May’s council elections.

Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems overcame the effects of the Lord Rennard sex scandal and the resignation of former Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne to cling on to their Hampshire seat.

Tory grandee Lord Tebbit said it was a “humiliating defeat” to finish third behind Ukip

Lib Dem Mike Thornton won with 13,342 votes, a majority of 1,771 over Ukip’s Diane James. Tory Maria Hutchings polled just 10,559 – more than 1,000 behind Ukip who snatched an astonishing 27 per cent share. Labour were a dismal fourth with only 4,088 votes.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the result as a “massive boost” and claimed Ukip would go on to transform British politics.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said Ukip’s showing was a protest vote at a time when people are “hurt”. And Mr Cameron, insisted he would not move to the Right, saying: “I don’t think we should tack this way, tack that way.”

Tory rebel MP Stewart Jackson warned however: “Unless things are demonstrably different by the early summer he will have great difficulty in persuading the electorate that we can win a general election.

“He is out of touch with the party. Both gay marriage and EU migration feed into a narrative that too much emphasis is going to the Liberal metropolitan elite and not enough to the blue-collar working vote that Margaret Thatcher had the support of.”

Nick Clegg's Lib Dems clung on to their Hampshire seat

Epping Forest Tory MP Eleanor Laing said: “Loyalty is a two-way thing. The leadership asks for loyalty from our supporters but those supporters don’t feel they get loyalty back.”

Tory grandee Lord Tebbit said it was a “humiliating defeat” to finish third behind Ukip, once labelled by Mr Cameron a “party of nutcases, fruitcakes and closet racists”.

Mr Cameron was given some hope last night by a survey of 760 voters in Eastleigh by LordAshcroftPolls.com. It showed the LibDems were helped by Labour supporters’ voting tactically, implying that if they revert to Labour in 2015 the Tories could win.

Former Conservative treasurer Lord Ashcroft said: “Our task is not to become more like Ukip, the party of easy answers, but to be the party of government that people want to vote for. Let’s hope there’s still time."